Vic Dura wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2005 16:59:41 +0100, "P" wrote Re
Panasonic DMC-FZ30:

I have made over 2000 photos with my FZ30 and I am happy with it. I upgraded

from FZ20.

Can you tell us what you prefer about the FZ30 over the FZ20? I would
be interested.

Here's the list of advantages I put together a while back:

It has a RAW mode.
It boots in 1 second versus 5 because the lens doesn't extend.
It has a manual zoom ring in addition to the focus ring.
Viewfinder and LCD have 1.4x the resolution
Tripod mounting hole is inline with the lens.
LCD gains up in low light.
Separate control dials for shutter, aperture.
VGA-quality 30fps movie mode.
55mm filter threads, no adapter needed.
Battery and memory card can be changed while camera is on a tripod.
(The FZ20's battery/memory door looks like a tripod head would block
it.)

Not all of those are killer differences, but the package is really
attractive.

For balance, here's my list of cons:

Only slightly better image quality than the FZ20 after dealing with
noise.
Effective focal length is slightly shorter.
Heavier and larger by a little bit.
Macro slightly less capable than the FZ20.
Some CA at the wide end, some distortion, relative to the FZ20.
IS not quite as effective due to the higher resolution.

I don't own the camera and have simply dredged this stuff out of
reviews. Some of this stuff might even be wrong. I'd be interested
in hearing from owners of the FZ30 about which of these things
are actually important.

Paul Allen